One of my quilt groups makes donation quilts about 40″ square for various organizations. The size is easy to construct and quilt at home, and is appropriate for the children who receive the quilts. Here are the recent group donations:
We often use swap blocks for our quilts and recently decided on a new swap and I want to tell you about it. One of your quilt groups may enjoy it, too! Here’s how:
First make a big wonky log cabin block. Our blocks started with a 5″ square, which was modified to make a wonky center. It was then surrounded by strips from my scrap bins, and occasional strips were trimmed so they were wonky, too. 
These big blocks are 21″ square (unfinished).
We cut each block in quarters, so each quarter is 10.5″ unfinished, and started arranging them to make a quilt top that would finish at 40″ square.
This was how we eventually decided to arrange them in the finished top:
And then, of course, we made 4 more:
If you decide to do this, there are only 2 things to watch out for:
- As you add strips, keep measuring to be sure the center block remains centered enough so that there will be a piece of it in each quarter when you cut the block up.
- It’s easiest if the final round of strips is considerably wider than needed so the block can be trimmed to (unfinished) size easily without running into seams.
This is a really fun way to use scraps! If you make one, or use this for a group swap, send me a picture!
